Imagine yourself on the trip of your dreams: a palm-ringed island, the beauty and history of Paris, the intoxicating allure of the Napa Valley. Now imagine that with only a pen, a camera and a little curiosity, all of these incredible travel destinations are within your reach.

Sign up today for Great Escape’s free newsletter, The Right Way to Travel, and you’ll learn how to get the most out of every trip – and how to get paid to do it.

Simply enter your name and email address in the form below and you’ll receive your first issue, along with our Five Fun Ways to Get Paid to Travel quick-start guide, absolutely free. Inside, you’ll find 5 exciting opportunities for earning extra income while exploring cities around the globe. It’s your first step to a life of fun and freedom.

Fill out the form today and you’ll be one step closer to a new part- or full-time income that can help you realize your travel dreams. And don’t worry – we will never rent, sell or give away your email address for any reason. We’ll see you out there!

It’s fun to have a beautiful online portfolio in different stock agencies, but the ultimate goal is to make an income from our photos.

Beyond taking and uploading great photos, here are some things you can do increase your sales:

1. Find out what buyers want. Many stock agencies feature a “photo request forum” where buyers can request different photo subjects. For example, on the iStock photo request forum, one buyer is always in need of photos of pets wearing collars and tags. Peruse these forums to see what buyers want, then see if you can take those kinds of photos.

Some agencies will also publish information on which photos are selling best in the past year, month, and week. This can be helpful for identifying trends and getting ideas of what to shoot next. The ideas you cull from these lists will apply across agencies, too.

2. Pay attention to your keywording. No one will find your photo if it isn’t well keyworded when you upload it to your agencies. Here’s an article with some keywording tips from stock photographer Shelly Perry to get you started.

3. Graduate to bigger agencies. When you’re first getting started, it’s a great idea to submit photos to Bigstock, Fotolia, and Dreamstime. Those agencies can be easier to get into than iStock and Shutterstock. Once you’re in, though, take some time to find out which of your photos get the most views, and use those as your application images at iStock and Shutterstock, which have larger customer bases and can possibly make you more money. Shutterstock in particular can be tough to get into. It took me three tries. It’s worth it, though, as it tends to be a consistent money-maker.

Whatever you do, always remember to keep it fun for yourself. Burn-out is real, and can hit you before you start making sales if you’re not careful.

Take the kinds of photos you like. Explore. Find your passion. Then follow it.

— Bonnie

Bonnie Caton
Creator, Breakfast Stock Club

P.S. If you don’t know what to shoot, get a stock photo theme delivered to your in-box each month and take photos for that theme. Then, get feedback on your photos from professional stock photographers as a Breakfast Stock Club Premium member, here.

Imagine yourself on the trip of your dreams: a palm-ringed island, the beauty and the history of Paris, the intoxicating allure of the Napa Valley. Now imagine that with only a pen, a camera and a little curiosity, all of these incredible travel destinations are within your reach.

Sign up today for our free newsletter, The Right Way to Travel, and you’ll learn how to get the most out of every trip – and how to get paid to do it.

Simply enter your name and email address in the form below and you’ll receive your first issue, along with our Five Fun Ways to Get Paid to Travel quick-start guide, absolutely free. Inside, you’ll find 5 exciting opportunities for earning extra income while exploring cities around the globe. It’s your first step to a life of fun and freedom.

Fill out the form today and you’ll be one step closer to a new part- or full-time income that can help you realize your travel dreams. And don’t worry – we will never rent, sell or give away your email address for any reason. We’ll see you out there!